


Kaleidoscope Dream

by virgo__rising



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-21 15:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16579343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virgo__rising/pseuds/virgo__rising
Summary: Tess Leonard grew up playing with Amy's imaginary raggedy man. But that's all he ever was: imaginary.  Except one night, he accidentally pays her a visit and whisks her away on a whirlwind adventure where only the inevitable will happen. It's like the Doctor said, you can't change fixed points in time.





	1. The Night He Came

    It was unlike any noise I had ever heard before. The rhythmic breaths of machinery sounded from the front garden, just below the window of the bedroom I was staying in, waking me from my light slumber. I sprang from the bed, pulling on my dressing gown as I raced down the stairs of my friend’s home to investigate. 

    “Amy!” A panicked man called as my bare feet came into contact with the ground floor. “Amy!”    
    I unlocked the front door with haste to either assist or confront the stranger who was looking for my friend at such an ungodly hour. But it seemed that as I was pulling the door open, the stranger was pushing from the outside to get in urgently, resulting in him flying over the threshold and landing on the hallway floor with me acting as a cushion to his fall. 

    “Amy?” He quizzed again with a raised head, greeting me with his green eyes.    
    “No!” I groaned from beneath him. “Do I look like Amy?”    
    “I am terribly sorry madam.” The man said delicately and sincerely while helping me to my feet. “Where is she? I’ve only been gone ten minutes.”    
    “You’re the Doctor, aren’t you?” I remarked while smoothing down my nightdress.    
    He paused for a moment, as though scanning my thoughts for how I could have known. “Have we met before?”    
    “A strange man with a funny bow tie and a blue box?” I said, peering around him to catch a better glimpse of the blue police box in the garden.   
    “Hey, bow ties are cool.” He interjected.    
    “I think I would have known if I’d met you before. Amy told me all about you, Doctor. I remember her telling me all about your first visit the next morning on the playground. And I must say, I was quite upset that I didn’t get to see you on your last visit to Leadworth.”    
    “Last visit?” He trailed off. “That was only today.”    
    “The Atraxi was last year.” I corrected him which forced him into silence.    
    “Damn! I do apologise. I’m still... I’m still getting the hang of the new model.” The Doctor muttered while pacing and running a hand through his brown floppy fringe.    
    “Amy will be back from her holiday at the end of the week.” I explained. “I’m only housesitting.”    
    The Doctor paused all of his movements and stared at me with furrowed eyebrows. “Housesitting?” He questioned like he was trying out a new word in his mouth. “Is that something you humans do?”    
    “Well... Yeah, I guess so.” I huffed, holding my arms across my chest in defence as I realised how pathetic I must have seemed in comparison of the magnificent things he had seen. “Look, it’s two in the morning.” I noted, “You can either do things the long way around and wait here or hop in your little machine there and come back in a few days.”    
    “No, you’re absolutely right.” The Doctor agreed, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned to leave. “I’m sorry for waking you.” 

    It was at that moment that something inside me switched. Just the sight of the Doctor, a stranger to me, leaving was enough to create an emptiness within my chest. He was Amy’s raggedy doctor but whether it was his mysterious past or dashing looks, I wanted him to stay just a little longer. “Unless I could interest you in some tea.” I called down the path making him freeze and turn back with a crooked smile on his lips. “Or something stronger?”    
    “What’s your name?” He questioned inquisitively.    
    “Tess,” I replied nervously, “Tess Leonard.”

    The Doctor sat patiently at the kitchen table while the kettle boiled and I prepared us a small plate of biscuits to accompany our mugs of tea. From behind me, I could sense his eyes darting all over the kitchen, taking in all the human objects of the home life.    
    “You know,” he began casually, “the last time I was sat at this table, I was eating-”   
    “Fish fingers and custard.” I finished for him before passing his hot mug across to him and sitting in the opposite chair. “Amy told me. Made me try it once as well.” A little giggle escaped me at that memory.   
    “So you and Amy then, how far back do you go? A long time I presume?”    
    “I was her first friend in England.” I explained with a custard cream between my fingers. “Suppose you could say I was shy as a kid and she was new so we sort of clung onto each other. Been best mates ever since.” I couldn’t yet bring myself to meet the eyes of the Doctor in such a confronting moment resembling a dinner date without knowing the truth: before I got too caught up in his charming eyes that had seen so much. There was something about this enigma of a man that made me feel dissected and vulnerable in the most wonderful of ways. “Is it true that you’re an alien?”    
    He seemed a bit taken aback by my forwardness, or dumb courage, and leant back into the wooden chair where his tweed jacket was hung on the back. “Yes.” He admitted, a concerned look on his face perhaps at how I would receive this.    
    “You don’t look like one.” I noted before smiling into my tea on my lips.    
    “What were you expecting? Green skin and six arms?” He exclaimed and bit down into a jammie dodger causing himself to mumble around his next sentence. “Which, by the way, do exist.”   
    “Well, yeah.” I smirked, enjoying how easy it was to tease this man. “I thought my first alien encounter would be exciting and dangerous like in the films. Not sat drinking tea and eating biscuits in my best friend’s kitchen.”    
    “Hey,” he punctuated with his index finger released from the handle of his mug pointed at me, “I can be exciting and dangerous when I need to be.” The Doctor leant forward on his elbows. “Preferably, never the latter except when necessary but danger tends to find me. And exciting, well I aim to be that every chance I get.” There was a pause as he took several large gulps of tea, never breaking eye contact with me from across the table.    
    “So it’s true that you travel across the universe? In that little blue box?” I asked before a drink of tea.    
    The Doctor resumed his leaning position on the table top, a dark mischief in his eyes. “Amy really did tell you everything, didn’t she?” He questioned in a way that made me second-guess my own sanity. “And you believed her?”   
    “Of course I did!” I replied back with the blatant truth. “As kids, you were a game. You were her imaginary friend that we’d play with and make up stories about. You were the only interesting thing to ever happen in this village.” I sighed, noticing a smug smile appear on the Doctor’s face. “But that’s all you were: a game. Now here you are in the flesh and still the only interesting thing in this village.”    
    The Doctor’s smile began to arch upward into a slight grin. “Are you sure we’ve never met before?”    
    “We’ve never met before.” I reaffirmed, arms folded across my chest in frustration. Amy's doctor fell into the same category as Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy in that logic made you stop believing in them after a certain age. But while the other myths had faded into mundane folklore, the Doctor was one story we all secretly took into adulthood. And I was frustrated that after years of forcing myself to denounce his existence, he could just show up in the middle of the night and still be charming.    
    “Funny, I feel like we have.” The Doctor’s gaze held mine in a vice as though scanning my eyes for any possible encounters we may have had though he must have known he’d find none. 

    “Anyway, I must be off.” He announced, rising from his seat and pulling his jacket on. “Things to do, people to see, civilisations to...save.”   
    “Will you come back?” I asked, almost begged, as I shot up from my chair and followed him down the hall.    
    “I expect so.” The Doctor answered when he stopped at the front door. “Besides, I promised Amy ten minutes. I probably shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer. Thank you, Tess, for the tea and biscuits.” He then cupped my cheeks which sent butterflies to my gut and kissed the air on either side of my face leaving me stunned before swiftly departing.    
    “Promise me that I’ll see you at the end of the week.” I called to him, pausing only to slip on some shoes before chasing him down the garden path to his blue box. “You won’t run off again without saying hello first?”    
    “Now why would I do that?” He smirked and unlocked the police box and stepped inside, revealing its golden contents.    
    I couldn’t believe my eyes as I peered inside, spotting the Doctor dancing around a round console in the centre of the large room. Surely, he left the door open so that I’d follow him. I took a cautious step inside the box and marvelled at the bright colours and the impossibility of its physics...which made no sense. I scurried out again and stared in disbelief, making sure to inspect every inch of the exterior. But it was just a police box on the outside. Were all spaceships like this? “It’s bigger on the inside.” I observed, stroking the wooden panels at the back of the box.    
    “Is it?” The Doctor questioned sarcastically, poking his head out of the door. “I’d never noticed.”    
    “So, this can go anywhere in the universe?” I queried and ran to join him at the console.    
    “Anywhere in time and space.” The Doctor smiled down at me with eyes glistening with excitement, clearly enjoying the childlike wonder on my face. “Tess Leonard, how would you feel about going on a little adventure with me?”    
   They were the words I had been dreaming of hearing since I was seven years old. But now that I was hearing them with my own ears, the list of what ifs began running through my mind. “But... I have work in the morning.” I stated, knowing it was only my timid nature talking.    
    “Tess, the Tardis is a time machine as well as a spaceship. You can be gone for weeks and come back five minutes after you left. What do you say?”    
    I looked up at those green eyes of his and his devilishly handsome face and found my answer there. “Take me away, raggedy man.”


	2. Hospital Visits

    “Where to next then Miss Leonard?” The Doctor asked as he buzzed round the console in excitement with the energy of a child who wasn’t ready to go to bed yet.    
    I attempted to answer but couldn’t for the laughter that kept erupting within me as I leant against the closed Tardis door. The Doctor had taken me to a fairground in another galaxy where the most peculiar of creatures had roamed and enjoyed the place alongside us. We sat together on the Ferris wheel that journeyed round simulations of spectacular planets across the universe on its circular passage, with the Doctor giving me commentary on each one, and indulged in dark purple candyfloss that tasted of butter and Turkish delight. Perhaps that was the root of my unstoppable laughter. “I want to see sunflowers!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up and twirling as I joined the Doctor at the console. After weeks of travelling with the Doctor, not once had I requested it yet.    
    “Sunflowers?” The Doctor repeated, taking his hands away from the keyboard and glancing down at me with a confused look on his face.    
    “Yes, sunflowers! They’re my favourite.” My eagerness seemed to do nothing to encourage the Doctor to share my enthusiasm. “I’m a florist.” I revealed, hoping that would give him some explanation.    
    A fascinated smile started to grow on the Doctor’s lips and glistens of adoration appeared in his eyes. “You humans are so cute.” He cooed, returning his attention to typing something on the keyboard. “You made job specifically designed to look after flowers and make them look pretty for people. Such a humble pursuit yet so important.” As the Doctor’s tangent continued, he suddenly paused and stood up straight and faced me again. “You never said.”    
    “You never asked.” I remarked, leaning forward to him.    
    “Well, I am going to show you the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen.” He boasted with that stupid smug smile he had and pulled the lever that sent the Tardis into motion. 

    The Tardis flew into her usual shaking momentum causing me grab onto the edge of the console for stability, meanwhile the Doctor was grinning like a madman at his erratic piloting skills that made our journey more “fun” as he had put it. Suddenly, the Tardis lurched sideways making me scream and fly into the railings which I clutched with all my strength as the ship continued to throw us around. 

    “Doctor!” I yelled to him, still trying to keep my footing. “Isn’t this more bumpy than usual!?”    
    “Yes!” He replied while pulling himself around the console without falling. “There’s a storm in the vortex! I’m trying to stabilise her!”    
    “Is that normal!?” My question went interrupted as I slipped and gripped onto the Tardis railing harder to pull myself up.    
    “Yes!” The Doctor called back, and glanced up from the console to check I was okay but only found panic on my face. “Well, not exactly!” He went on, twisting a tap and pressing various buttons. “We’ll be alright! We’re perfectly safe in here!” Sparks began flying up into the Doctor’s face, signalling a definite malfunction. As we got pulled further and further into the storm, we were thrown once more, this time almost to a ninety-degree angle. The force of the jolt sent me flying over the railings where I landed in a heap against the wall and lower level of the Tardis where everything was dark. 

    As I came to, the first sounds I heard were as soothing as hot milk. “It’s alright, she’s coming around now.” The gentle voice said. “Good morning, darling. That was quite a nasty fall you suffered. You hit your head a lot harder than I thought.”    
    The Doctor’s face slowly began to take shape mere inches in front of my eyes where I could see that he was leant over the bed I was lying in. “Doctor?” I muttered, struggling to focus with the bright lights of the blue clinical room. “Where?”    
    “It’s alright, Tess. You’re in hospital: the best hospital in the universe, in fact. They’re going to take care of you here.” The Doctor assured me with a soft smile and sank down into a chair to the side of the bed. “I thought I’d bring you in just as a precaution.” 

    “Your tests have all come back normal.” A third voice in the room stated. “Pupils are dilating correctly.” They said as my eyes adjusted to the lid being pulled back and a torch light being shone into each. “You need to finish this course of pain relief and anti-bodies and you’ll be good to go. Just rest. Press the bell if you need anything.” The man was an older man, I suppose, by Earth’s standards, dressed in medical scrubs and with slick jet-black hair and skin the colour of a salmon.    
    “Thank you.” The Doctor said, as the nurse left the room before turning his attention back to me. 

    “Doctor, this is all a bit much for a bumped head, isn’t it?” I asked with concern as I sat up. “Will we have to pay for this? Do they have the NHS yet on this planet?”    
    The Doctor let out a small chuckle and took a hold of my hand. “I love it when you go all...humany. Don’t worry about it, Tess. It’s all taken care of.”    
    “There’s something going on here, isn’t there?” I noted and watched as the Doctor’s smile began to fade.    
    “I’m not saying that there’s an unusual amount of energy coming from the basement, but there’s an unusual amount of energy coming from the basement.”    
    “And you’re going to go and check it out?”    
    “Precisely.” He agreed, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his inside pocket. “I’m going to check it out while you wait here and receive the best possible healthcare in all the universe. Oh, and here’s an earpiece for you.” He said, dropping the device on the bed next to my leg. “Anything happens, you contact  _me_ first, okay _?_ ” The Doctor ordered while hooking a his own into his ear.    
    “Yes,  _Dad_.” I mocked with a smirk.    
    “Oi! I can be scarier than your dad if I need to be. Now, be good and rest.” He instructed before planting a firm kiss on my forehead and another chaste one on my cheek. “Someone will be in for your regular dosage, all standard procedure here.” Before I could add anything else, he sprang up and darted for the door.    
    “Doctor!” I called, making him stop with one foot out the door and turning to me. “Be careful, won’t you?”    
    “Always am.” He assured with a wink and his screwdriver held up to his chest. That man was going to be the death of me. 

    I only managed to sleep for half an hour or so before getting bored of being in bed. Daytime naps were never my thing but it was both the Doctor’s orders  _and_  a medical professional’s so I didn’t really have a say in the matter. I decided to turn on the television with the hope that there would be some film or programme from Earth or at least something I could understand and, to my surprise, I found  _Gone_ _with_ _the Wind_ amongst the libraries. 

    It was sometime into the second hour of the film when the nurse returned to administer me the required medicine and without the Doctor here to reassure me, I felt slightly unnerved by the alien science being injected into my bloodstream.    
    “I’m Tess. What’s your name?” I asked as I tried to take my mind off of the painfully slow injection of the medicated fluid.    
    “Enos, Miss.” The nurse replied, never looking up from his work.    
    I recognised the name immediately from a story my grandmother had told me. “You know, in parts of my planet, that means human.”    
    “I know, Miss.” Enos replied. “That’s why my parents gave it to me. Remarkable creatures, humans. No matter how much difficulty they face, you can guarantee that they will put their differences aside and help one another.”    
    I was slightly taken aback by Enos’ view on the human race. “It doesn’t feel like that sometimes.” I admitted coyly. “Sometimes, it feels quite the opposite. But I like to believe that most people are good at heart.”   
    “You are not proud to be human?” Enos questioned, seemingly shocked.    
    “I suppose I’ve never really thought about it.”    
    “Why, my dear.” He said in surprise and retracted the now empty syringe from my arm. “You must always be proud of who you are.” Enos offered with earnest looking right into my eyes. “Of all the creatures who have ever been and ever will be, you happen to be you. There’s something to be proud of in that.” Enos placed a hand decorated in intricate black ink gently on my shoulder before placing the silver syringe in a kidney dish and aiming for the door. “I’ll be back in another couple of hours. Just rest.” 

    My thoughts did travel to the Doctor every now and again, especially during the scenes of forbidden love between Scarlett and Ashley. It wasn’t that I was in love with the Doctor, it was just a feeling I got on occasions when would give me a certain look or a certain smile when I said something he deemed as clever or “humany”. It was a feeling that maybe I was having an effect on him that perhaps no one had given him in a long time. But then again, what’s a young girl supposed to do when a wise old man with the face of a teenager and the energy of a child whisks her away on an adventure of a lifetime. We were important to one another, that’s all I could be sure of. 

    Just when Scarlett and Ashley were sharing a tender embrace, a voice began to call down my earpiece. “Doctor to Leonard? Come in, Leonard.”   
    “Yeah, don’t call me that.”    
    “Tess!” The Doctor greeted. “How are you doing?” He was using that tone that told me everything was fine when things most definitely were not fine.    
     “Good.” I responded, standing from my bed and pacing around my assigned room. “It’s so relaxing here. I feel like my eyes won’t stay open.”   
    “You haven’t fallen asleep, have you?” The Doctor’s voice was full of concern and urgency.    
    “I did for a bit but I woke up and then they brought me my medication.”    
    “Whatever you do,  _don’t_ fallasleep.” He warned.    
    “What do you mean? You told me to rest.”    
    “Tess, I should never have brought you here.” He mumbled with sorrow. “Things are worse than I thought.”    
    “Doctor, what’s going on?” My question was full of grit from my fear.    
    “They’re cloning patients. I don’t know why but don’t fall asleep. Whatev-”    
    My attention to him was distracted by a thick gas that started to seep through a vent above my bed. “Doctor?” I pleaded. “They know. They’re onto you.” By now my eyes were starting to roll into the back of my head as I forced them to remain open and the Doctor was calling my name frantically down the communication line.    
    “Tess, listen to me. Whatever happens, I am coming for you.” There was a level of sincerity in the Doctor’s promising tone that I had never heard before. “Know that I am always coming for you.”    
    “I’m sorry, Doctor.” I said as my last words before collapsing to the floor. 

~~~~~

      The passage of time was one that had been erased from my memory. All I became aware of was the instinctive gasp of air I took upon having several tubes removed from my throat, as though being born again, followed by an attack of retching as I attempted to regulate my breathing. The next thing I noticed was the smoke dissipating around me caused by the opening of the door that had sealed me inside the tank. As I it evaporated, it became clear that Enos was my rescuer as he stood outside on a metal walkway. 

    “Come on, Miss.” He said with an arm under my shoulders as he helped me out. “I need to get you out of here.”   
    “Where’s the Doctor?” I demanded, refusing to take a step until I knew. “Where is he? He’s supposed to be here.”    
    “I don’t know where your friend is, Miss. But I’m going to help you escape. Now come on. We must go now.” Enos tugged on my hand and ran with me along the circular walkway of what appeared to be a never-ending tower with identical pods decorating every inch of the walls which continued both above and below us. 

   We came to a stop as Enos pushed me down a side corridor that led us to a lift. With frantic hands, Enos slapped the button to open the doors continuously in a panic that matched mine. “I will send you to the Sanctuary.” He stated. “You will be safe there until I can find your friend and tell him where you are.”   
    “Safe from what?” I demanded, still trying to put information together. “The Doctor said patients are being cloned. Why? How do I know I can trust you?”   
    Enos turned to face me and took my hands in his. “Believe me, Miss. I had no part in this plot. I am just a nurse with a wish to help people.” 

    At that moment, a chime rang from the lift as the doors peeled open, revealing two identical women dressed in fine black robes with headpieces resembling extravagant crowns.    
    “Excellent, Brother.” The one on the left spoke. “We were just coming to collect this one.” Her words were followed by a chorus of laughter from the other woman who seemed more unhinged as I was snatched from Enos’ grip and dragged into the lift with them.    
    I looked back at Enos who wore the most sorrowful look I had ever seen in the galaxy, as though the air had been forced out of him. But that didn’t change how scared I was. He could have left me for the Doctor to find. “I trusted you!” I spat at him before the doors closed, leaving me with his sisters arresting me with a tight clasp on each arm. 

   “I think we’ll get a pretty penny out of you. Don’t you think so Sister?” The unhinged sister hissed, with a silken-gloved finger stroking the side of my face which I desperately inched away from. “So young and full of life. Just the heart alone will be worth a fortune. And what  _beautiful_  hair you have.”   
    And that was when I learned what my fate would be: why this hospital had been cloning patients. “You’re cloning patients to sell the original organs?” I questioned as a statement, making sure to keep my composure. “You’re just going to send a plastic version of me back to my friend. That’s pretty messed up, don’t you think?”   
    “Oh, don’t worry,  _Teresa_. Your precious Doctor won’t be able to tell the difference once we’re done with you.” The leader assured before the door re-opened to a dark circular room with a theatre bed in a central spotlight. 

    I was pulled towards it, my bare feet desperately trying to find traction on icy stone floor but failed their fight. With every step, I struggled and pushed and pulled in an attempt to free myself. Even my cries for the Doctor went unanswered which was the ultimate sign that my fate had been sealed. As I was forcibly strapped to the bed, I still kicked my legs viciously in one final try of defiance but they were soon cuffed to the bed along with my wrists. I turned my head to the left where a large bath stood filled with a peculiar opaque gel substance and an impressive structure of technology around it.

    “Just a small cut. Then it will  _all_ be over.” The woman cooed over me like a mother soothing her distressed child but with far more malice. She presented a silver scalpel and grinned at the soft flesh of my lower arm while her sister cackled like a maniac in the background.    
    I winced and gasped as the blade sliced into my skin, blood spilling out and trickling in a crimson stream down my arm making my eyes pinch closed. The shriek that forced itself from my mouth was almost deafening as the blade sunk deeper until it hit the bone and then continued downwards. “Doctor!” I screamed over and over through panicked tears as I felt the knife cut only a small rectangle of skin and flesh beneath the inside of my elbow.    
    “There you go, pretty. All over.” She said to me in the same patronising tone. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”   
    Glancing down, I regretted the decision to look at the blood bath covering my arm and gown, and the view of my bone through the cavity in my flesh. I watched as the Sister took the sample to the machinery beside me and inserted it into a compartment before pressing various buttons.    
    “Now then, Teresa.” She uttered over the sound of the equipment and took slow steps towards me a poker hot rod in hand. “Just a little longer and you’ll be free to go back to your precious Doctor. All of this will just be a bad dream.” A searing hot burn overcame my skin as she placed the rod over my wound causing me to yell again and my body to convulse as my instincts pleaded to pull me away to safety. The fizzing sound of burning flesh invading my ears and head until, after what felt like an eternity, it finally stopped. Then she turned to her deranged sibling. “Get the tools. This one’s ready for harvesting.” A wild tight grin grew on her mouth as her sister went into a fit of hysteric cackling and disappeared from my view. 

    Just as I was beginning to say my final silent prayers, it seemed that one of them had been answered as my hero’s voice echoed around the room. “The Doctor! I found him!” Enos called from a doorway at the top of a set of metal stairs.    
    “Not now, Brother, we are busy!” The leader grumbled, not wishing to take my eyes off of me.    
    “But he’s found the containment chamber!” Enos pleaded, making me despise him even further. He had already led me straight to these lunatics, now he was putting the Doctor in danger.    
    “Wait here, Sister.” She said to the deranged woman. “Make sure she doesn’t escape.” At that, she turned and went up the staircase and out of sight. 

    I was then left with the woman who scared me even more: the unpredictable one, the one without the terrifying calm demeanour. She stood a little behind my left shoulder so I had to strain my neck to glare straight into her wide eyes, not daring to miss a move that she made. To be this mad had me questioning whether she had been born like this or whether a deep trauma had led her follow her sister’s twisted ventures. Or whether she was a clone that went slightly wrong. 

    As our gaze intensified, I gasped as a syringe was stabbed into her neck and she fell into the arms of her attacker who gently brought her down lay on the floor. Enos stood over her unconscious body, dropping the syringe to the ground next to her and stepping over her to my bedside.    
    “You!” I accused. “You led her straight to the Doctor! He’s the only one who can get me home safely!”   
    “I’m here to rescue you.” He explained as he began to loosen my restraints. “If we hurry, we will be able to save him too.”    
    I sat up and stared at him with judging eyes. “Why should I trust you?”    
    Enos swallowed and wetted his lips. “Because right now, I am the only hope you have. And you are the only hope your friend has. Please, Miss.”    
    In only a few moments, I leapt from the bed and rushed up the stairs with Enos. “Take me to the containment chamber!” I demanded, stopping only to collect a dated and disused fire extinguisher from the dark corridor. 

    Enos took me around various corners and identical corridors, the agony in my arm and the numbing cold of my feet becoming more and more irrelevant as each step took me closer to the Doctor. But whether each step was in time to save him was something unbearable to comprehend. It was when heard the exchange of words that we both came skidding to an abrupt halt, keeping sure to remain silent and out of sight in the corridor that led to the metal walkway of pods. 

    “What is it with people like you? Always disregarding any other living thing for your own personal gain.” The Doctor proclaimed, the disgust and annoyance clear in his voice but never raising it.    
    “My kind were dying.” The female voice responded softly. “Our planet had run out of resources. We were desperate. What would you have done?”    
    “You are murdering thousands of people and it ends now!You’re going to return my Tess to me  _unharmed_. And then-”    
    “And then what?” The leader said, her smile audible. “It’s too late, Doctor. The cloning process has already begun. By now, her duplicate will be ready and my own twin will begin harvesting her organs ready for sale. Her kind donations won’t go unappreciated by my people.” 

    It was at that moment that I needed the Doctor to know that I was okay. Much to Enos’ protest, I began to creep forward onto the walkway where the Doctor stood facing me, the woman with her back to me, with my weapon held tight in my grasp.    
    The Doctor glanced at me only briefly so not to give my location away and had a smug, all knowing look on his face. “Ah.” He said abruptly. “There might be a problem there. You see, I might have possibly snuck into your little laboratory to admire your little project and gotten some wiring mixed up and maybe even snapped off a few little loose components by accident. You might be missing this.” The Doctor suggested, rummaging in his jacket pocket for a small silver gadget. “DNA transmitter; very compact, I must say. But without it, your machine won’t be able to use any of my Tess’ or anyone else’s DNA. So, it’s game over for you I’m afraid.”    
    Instead of being furious as expected, the woman slowly began to laugh, softly at first but then grew louder. “Oh, Doctor. Did you really think you could stop me that easily?” 

    That line became my cue to use all the weakened strength I could muster and swung the fire extinguisher high, delivering a mighty blow to the back of my captor’s head. She fell to the metal grate like sack of potatoes in the space between the Doctor and I, revealing his surprised expression mixed with concern. “Hello, darling.” I greeted, trying my best to smile through the ordeal.    
    “Tess,” he breathed, stepping over the unconscious body and pulling me into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” The Doctor’s right hand was holding the back of my head as he planted numerous kisses to the top of it. “Your arm.” He suddenly said, breaking away and gently taking my injured limb into his hands to examine it. “I’ll see to it, I promise.” 

    “Excellent job, Detective.” The Doctor congratulated Enos, shaking the man’s hand vigorously.    
    “No; thank  _you_ , Doctor.” The nurse insisted. “My team are on their way. I’m sure they’ll be very happy with today’s result.”    
    “Wait a minute.” I barked, coming between the two men. “ _Detective_?”    
    “Detective Saverio here is part of the elite police force on this planet.” The Doctor explained. “He told me all about the suspicious activity going on here while we were waiting for you to wake up. And you know I can never resist.”    
    “I am sorry for your treatment, Miss.” Detective Saverio said sincerely. “But you were a vital part in this. Patients across the universe will survive now because of you.”    
    I was slightly stuck for words as I tried to digest the news that my torture was somehow a service in this investigation. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Detective.” I remarked, not knowing if I meant it or not.    
    “Over to you now, Detective.” The Doctor announced, picking up Saverio’s hand for another solid handshake. “Best I get Miss Leonard out of here.” 

    Back on the Tardis, the Doctor flew us into deep space where we floated statically in the ship. I sat on the steps leading from the entrance to the console staring out the open doors at a stunning purple and pink nebula that washed across the darkness. It was truly breathtaking to let my thoughts get lost amongst the star nursery where the most beautiful creations were being birthed that my people back at home would come to study and be captivated by. I was so entranced by its splendour that I failed to notice when the Doctor sat down beside me. 

    “Let me take a look at your arm.” He stated, holding his hand as I crossed it over my body to give him access to the cauterised wound. “I’m sorry they did this to you. It was my fault”   
    “It’s okay, Doctor. I’m safe now.” I insisted, trying to put his guilty conscience at ease.    
    “You could have died and it would have been my fault. It’s not always safe around me.” The Doctor took out his sonic and began scanning.    
    “Doctor, I trust you.”    
    He didn’t answer me, or even look at me. He just tucked his sonic back into his inside pocket and gently placed his palm over my injury, smiling at me gently. “I don’t want to lose you, Tess.” The Doctor uttered before closing his eyes and focussing on my arm. 

    A golden light began to glow from his hand as energy danced around our connection making my eyes grow in amazement. I knew he was alien, but even this was something I wasn’t expecting from him as a tingling sensation grew in my lower arm. I watched in fascination until the light began to fade and the Doctor gently exhaled and released his hand, revealing perfect new skin.    
    “There we are.” The Doctor announced, admiring his handiwork. “Good as new.” He gently kissed the space where the wound had been and set my arm down.    
    I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder as he brought an arm around my back, and rested his head upon mine. He had told me all about his regenerative powers and that his whole body could repair itself if necessary. He could become a whole new person. I just didn’t know he could use those powers on others. “I don’t mind the danger.” I admitted, feeling the Doctor’s thumb caress my back. “These adventures we have; I wouldn’t change them for anything.” 

    I pulled my head away and gazed at him, into those green eyes that held so much wisdom and life and gentleness. For just a handful of seconds, I tossed away my doubts and pressed my lips to the Doctor’s in a kiss that stunned both of us. I could sense his arms flailing around in fluster before settling one hand on my waist for only a moment. As I pulled away, I was met by a very shocked Doctor who looked like he’d had either the fright of his life or an epiphany.    
    “Goodnight, Doctor.” I blurted out, jumping to my feet.    
    “Goodnight, Tess.” The Doctor replied just as quickly as I scurried off to my bedroom feeling like an embarrassed school girl. 


End file.
